Reversible stepping switch



United States Patent 72] Inventor Pierre P. Schwab River Edge, New Jersey [21 Appl. No. 822,642 [22] Filed May 7, 1969 [45] Patented Dec. 1, 1970 [7 3] Assignee McGraw-Edison Company Elgin, Illinois a corporation of Delaware [54] REVERSIBLE STEPPING SWITCH 5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl 200/156, 74/577 [5i] Int. Cl 01h 3/34 [50] Field oiSearch. 200/156, 153.16; 74/575, 577, 578, 99; 335/123, 140

[56] References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,182,141 5/1965 Kociet a] 200/156X 3,257,535 6/1966 Sallin et al. 200/156 3,331,038 7/1967 Fosteret al 335/140) FOREIGN PATENTS 1,110,276 7/1961 Germany 200/156 I Primary Examiner-Robert K. Schaefer Assistant Examiner-William J. Smith AttorneyGeorge H. Fritzinger ABSTRACT: A reversible stepping switch has a reciprocable slide plate carrying rightand left-hand pawls for engaging respective rightand left-hand ratchet wheels to step the switch in either direction as the slide plate is shifted in either direction from a midposition. A window in the front wall of the switch housing permits the user to view the switch positioning on a readout drum connected to the switch rotor. A manual lever for stepping the switch in either direction as the lever is shifted in one direction or the other from a neutral position is coupled to an extending end portion of the slide plate permitting the lever to be spaced sufficiently from the readout window to permit the lever to be manipulated without the hand obstructing the view through the window.

PATENTEI] DEC] I976 SHEET 1 OF 2 FIG.|

v INVENTOR PIERRE P. SCHWAB AGENT PATENTED DEC] I978 SHEET 2 OF 2 FICELZ FIC3.3

SCHWAB AGENT REVERSIBLE STEPPING SWITCH Heretofore, reversible stepping switches have been provided with a manual rocker directly overhead the switch mechanism, which carries respective pawls engageable with rightand left-hand ratchet wheels to step the switch in either direction as the manual rocker is shifted in one direction or the other from its neutral position. This design suffers from a lack of flexibility requiring among other things that the manual lever be adjacent the readout window with the result that the hand of the operator obstructs the view through the window while the switch is being operated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel design of reversible stepping switch using a slide member extending transversely of the switch axis for carrying the rightand left-hand pawls.

Another object is to provide such switch design wherein the manual operating lever is coupled to an extending end portion of the slide member permitting the lever to be manipulated without the hand obstructing the view through the readout window.

Another object is to provide an economical design of reversible stepping switch having a superior action.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of may invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a switch embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the switch mechanism with parts in section on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fractional view of the switch mechanism with parts broken away as seen from the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

The present bidirectional switch has a rectangular housing provided with projecting mounting lugs 11 at the opposite ends thereof. The front wall 12 of the housing has an opening 13 at one end thereof fitted with a flanged bushing 14 carrying a cross pivot shaft 15 for a manual lever 16 extending through the bushing. The central opening 17 of the bushing is oversized to allow a limited pivotal movement of the manual lever 16 for operating the switch, but the lever has a spherical hub 18 fitting the opening 17 and has a rubber boot 19 thereon seated on the outer flanged end of the bushing and sealed at its neck portion with the lever to close the switch mechanism from outside dust or dirt. A triangular finger piece 160 is mounted on the outer end of the manual lever to facilitate operation of the switch in either direction.

At the center of the front wall 12 of the housing is a window 20 for viewing a readout drum 21 having numbers 22 on the periphery thereof for indicating the positioning of the switch. At the other end of the front wall is a threaded opening 23 receiving a lamp 24 having a base connected to contact lugs 25. The glass envelope of the lamp is fitted with a red filter cap 26 which abuts at its outer end against a capsule 27 threaded into the opening 23 to seal the housing and to hold the lamp in place. The backwall 28 of the housing has a number of printed circuit terminals two of which indicated at 29 make connection to a source of voltage (not shown) for the lamp 24 and the remaining group of which indicated at 30 make connections to the respective contacts on a printed circuit board 31 of the switch.

Journaled in the housing directly back of the window 20 is a cross shaft 32 having a portion of rectangular cross section receiving the readout drum 21 and other parts adjacent thereto. Mounted on the outer side of this drum is a cantilever spring 33 having a bifurcated end portion to form a set of brush contacts 34 which slidably engage the switch contacts on the printed circuit board 31. This drum with the side brushes also constitute a rotor for the switch.

The inner side of the readout drum 21 opposite the brushes 34 is provided with a series of equally spaced notches or indentations 35 about the pivot axis of the drum which are engaged by ball tips 36 on a U-shaped detent spring 37 to detent the switch in its respective positions. This detent spring is mounted at its corner portions on bosses 38 extending from the sidewall of the housing. Secured to the shaft 32 at the inner side of the readout drum are leftand right-hand ratchet wheels 39 and 40. Between the sidewall 41 of the housing 10 and the adjacent ratchet wheel 39 is a slide plate 42 having a pinslot mounting 43 on the sidewall of the housing permitting the slide plate to be shifted back and forth in directions at right angles to a medial plan 44 through the shaft 32. This slide plate has leftand right-hand pawls 45 and 46 pivotally connected thereto at opposite sides of the medial plan 44 for engaging respectively the leftand right-hand ratchet wheels 39 and 40. The pawlsare biased about their pivot axes by torsion springs 47-48 against respective stop pins 49 and 50. The inner end of the manual lever 16 is provided with a slot 51 receiving a stud 52 staked to an end portion 420 of the slide plate extending beyond the readout drum. Mounted at opposite sides of the lever 16 on respective pins 53 extending from the sidewall 41 of the housing are torsion springs 54 which bias the manual lever into a neutral position and the slide plate 42 into a midposition wherein both pawls 45 and 46 are disengaged from the ratchet wheels 39 and 40.

When the manual lever 16 is shifted from its neutral position in an upward direction the slide plate 42 is shifted downwardly causing the pawl 46 to engage the ratchet wheel 40 and step the switch ahead in a clockwise direction to the next contact. A repeated reciprocation of the lever 16 in an upward direction from neutral position will cause the switch to be advanced by successive steps. Conversely, when the manual lever 16 is shifted downwardly from its neutral position the pawl 45 engages the ratchet wheel 39 to step the switch in a reverse counterclockwise direction. By repeatedly pressing the manual lever downwardly from its neutral position the switch is stepped backwardly by successive positions. In each case the hand of the operator does not obstruct the view through the window 20 since the present design permits the manual lever 16 to be spaced from the window by any desired distance.

Iclaim:

1. A reversible stepping switch comprising a switch rotor, rightand left-hand ratchet wheels secured to said rotor in coaxial relation thereto, a slide member mounted for movement transverse to the journal axis of said rotor, a manual lever pivotally connected to said slide member for shifting said slide member in one direction or the other from a midposition, and a pair of rightand left-hand pawls pivoted to said slide member for engaging said rightand left-hand ratchet wheels respectively to step said rotor switch in advance and reverse directions as said slide member is shifted in one direction or the other from its midposition.

2. The reversible stepping switch set forth in claim 1 including spring means biasing said manual lever and slide member in a midposition wherein both of said pawls are disengaged from said ratchet wheels.

3. The reversible stepping switch set forth in claim 1 including a switch housing, a readout drum bearing numbers on the periphery thereof representing switch positions, and a window in said housing for viewing the switch position numbers on said drum, and wherein said manual lever is coupled to an end portion of said slide member and is pivoted to said housing at a point spaced from said window enabling the exposed portion of said manual lever to be manipulated without the hand obstructing the view through said window.

4. A reversible stepping switch comprising a switch rotor, rightand left-hand ratchet wheels secured coaxially to said rotor, a slide member mounted for reciprocative movement in directions at right angles to a medial plane through the axis of said rotor, two pawls pivotally mounted on said slide member respectively at opposite sides of said medial plane for engaging said respective ratchet wheels, means biasing said slide member to a midposition wherein both of said pawls are disengaged from said ratchet wheels, and a single manual lever coupled to said slide member for shifting said slid member to cause one of said pawls to engage one of said ratchet wheels and step said rotor in one direction with each reciprocation of the manual lever in one direction from a neutral position and to cause the other pawl to engage the other of said ratchet wheels and step said rotorin the other direction with each 7 reciprocation of the manual lever in the other direction from housing extending transversely past the rotor axis and having posite sides of said rotor axis, means biasing said slide member in a midposition wherein said pawls are both disengaged from said ratchet wheels, a manual lever pivoted to the front wall of said housing and coupled to said slide member for shitting the slide member to engage one pawl or the other with said respective ratchet wheels to step the switch rotor in one direction or the other as said manual lever is shifted in one direction or the other from neutral position, said manual lever ratchet wheels connected to said rotor, a slide member on said a an end portion extending beyond said readout drum, a pair of rightand left-hand pawls pivoted to said slide member at opbeing coupled to said extending end portion of said slide member and spaced from said window permitting said manual lever to be manipulated without the hand of the operator obstructing the view through the window. 

